I have dozens of gadgets in the house, but the one that gets the most amount of use has to be the NAS. I use a DiskStation DS1019+ for backing up all my photos and videos, and there's a DiskStation DS1522+ that serves as my Plex media server. I've been using a NAS server as centralized storage for just over a decade now, and it is one of those products that you don't really realize you need until you get one, and then you wonder how you've done things without it.
I used the DiskStation DS224+ for just over three months now, and it is terrific: it does a great job as a Plex media server, and thanks to utilities like Synology Photos, I can easily back up photos and videos from all my phones to the NAS automatically. If you just want to see what all the fuss is about with a NAS server, the DiskStation DS224+ has everything you need to get started.
If you think you'll need more than two drive bays, you should consider the DiskStation DS423+; even though the naming is a little confusing, it has the same hardware as the DS224+, but with two additional drive bays.
The DiskStation DS224+ and DS423+ have the same set of software features, and the combination of hardware along with the standout software makes these a great choice if you're just learning more about the ecosystem. Of course, you'll need a few hard drives to go along with the NAS servers — they're sold as diskless units — and there's good news on that front as well, with the best NAS hard drives currently available at huge discounts.
The basic premise of a NAS is straightforward; it's just a metal box that houses hard drives, and then you connect it via Ethernet to your router so it's accessible to all devices on your home network. What makes a NAS so great is the seamlessness with which it lets you do things — whether that's streaming locally-saved media via Plex, backing up photos, videos, and documents automatically, running your own audio server, and so on.
If you haven't already bought a NAS, Black Friday is usually the best time to get started with a server. There are plenty of deals going live very soon, and most of the best-selling NAS servers and NAS hard drives will go on sale. Having used the current slate of products, the server I'd recommend for most users is the DiskStation DS224+. It is a 2-bay NAS that has powerful hardware, dual Gigabit Ethernet connectivity, and the best set of software features in its category.
